Self-adjusting feed roller



1931- F. GIITZENDANNER SELF ADJUSTING FEED ROLLER Filed April 21. 1950 avwamto'c red 68/2214 dunner;

. Patented Dot-l3, 1931.

rann errzmwnmnna, or rmw roax, N. Y. I

. BEN-ADJUSTING FEEDJROLLEB 4 My invention relates to rollers for feeding paper, fabric and similar materials. It is well known that the feeding. of thin materials, such [as paper for example, involves many 6 difiiculties when handled with the ordinary straight rollers now in use. If are not perfectly parallelto each other the material is fed faster at one edge than the 1 other. If the rollers are not perfectly 10 straight or exactly concentric uneven feeding.

likewise results. If any foreign matter should accidently adhere to the material, or the material should contain a fold vfor ex-. ample, and thus carried between the rollers, 15 uneven of the material may result.

The main obje t of the present invention is to rovide a feed oller which will automatica y adjust its'elfto any rregularities m arallelism, concentricity, or other defects ints companion roller, or in the material being fed, and thus insure an even rate of feed Y under all conditions. This is of great importance vwhen feeding paper or other ma terials which must .be accurately registered, as in printing for example.

Another object is to provide a feed roller containing a plurality of units which can be s aced at various distances so as .to enga t e material only at such places as may desirable. A further object is to provide a feed roller in which the pressure of each unit 'may be adjusted to the requirements of the particular material being ed. A still further object is to provide a feed roller which may be installed and'used on any machine using'straight rollers without necessitating any change or alteration in such machine, and which can be manufactured and installed at a comparatively low cost. These and various other objects and advantages will be readily understood from the following description and panyingdrawings of a preferred embodiment in whic however, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the drawmgs Fig. 1 is a plan view of the improved feed roller, shown .with .its straight companion roller;

such. rollers feeding, or even complete distortion,

of the recesses, are

' same size as the springs 23 each has from the accom-- v Application med farm 21, mo. Serial in. 445,849.

' Fig. 2 is a cross-sectlonal, end view of Fig. 1, taken on line 2-2;

Fig. 3- s a cross-sectional, end view, taken on line 3-3, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional, side view of one of the units making up the roller.

Referring now to all the views, simultaneously, an ordinary, straight roller is shown at 10. The improved feed roller consists of a shaft 11 upon which a number of units C,

D, and E are secured against rotation by set screws 12. These units are all alike and each consists of a sleeve 13made with a lar e head 14 in which the screw '12 is inserte The front end ofthe sleeve is threaded and on this thread a nut 15 and a lock nut 16 are attached.

A roller 17-, of larger diameter than the head 14 and with a concentric bore 18 of larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve, is rotatingly mounted on the sleeve.

As the boreis lar ert anthe sleeve, the roller.

is free to float on the sleeve. Concentric recesses are turned both sides of the roller and in these recesses fibre discs 19 and 20 are placed. The discs .are thicker than the depth free to rotate in the rerovided with holes of'the ore inthe roller.

A collar '21 is slidably mounted on the sleeve but prevented from rotating by a key 22 which is inserted in the sleeve. The roller and the two fibre discs are held between the head 14 and the collar 21 in the following. manner. A plurality of holes are drille in one side of the collar and compression one of its ends mserted in and glided by these holes. The other ends of t e springs abut against a washer 24 to which an aligninlg pin 25, which slides in a hole 26 in the co ar, is riveted. By thus preventing the washer from rotating, all danger of the springs'jammin on the edges of the holes is removed. In a the views the center line of the shaft 11 is indicated by the. letter A, while the center line of the rollerand 1gahe fibre discs is indicated by the letter v The 'nuts 15nd 16 may either by knurled l cesses, and are so, that they can be tightened by hand, 'pro 7 a so r to vided with holes 27 for use with a spanner wrench, or provided with any other suitable tightening means. It is evident that by manipulating these nuts the friction on the fibre discs and the roller may be varied to meet the required condition. It is also evident that, as the shaft 11 rotates, the roller 17 is presented eccentrically to the material 28 as it passes over the companion roller 10 and that the roller is forced backwards, or towards the sleeve, to accommodate the thickness of the material at the particular point of contact, thus feeding the material at an even rate no matter what its condition, or that of the roller 10, may be at that point.

While the units C, I), and E are shown assembled in contact with each other on the shaft 11, it will be understood that they may be secured at any points along the shaft. This makes it possible to engage the material at any desired point, as for example the margins and intermediate spaces of paper just printed. It will be noted that practically all the wear will be on the fibre discs and that these may be replaced at low cost. Furthermore these discs give the rollers 17 a smooth and easy movement.

Having described my invention and its use, what I claim as new and wish to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In a feed roller unit, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger outside diameter than that of said head and a bore ofa larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve, a collar slidably mounted on the sleeve, and means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said roller yieldingly between said head and said collar.

2. In a feed roller unit, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger outside diameter than that of said head and a bore of a larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve, a collar slidably mounted on the sleeve, and spring-actuated means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said roller 'yieldingly between said head and said collar.

3. In a feed roller unit, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger diameter than that of said head and a bore of a larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve, a collar slidably mounted on said sleeve, and adjustable spring-actuated means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said roller yieldingly between said head and said collar whereby the friction between these parts may be varied.

4. In a feed roller unit, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger diameter than that of said head and a bore of a larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve, a collar slidably mounted on the sleeve, spring-actuated means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said roller mounted on the the diameter of the astute and discs interposed between the head and the roller and the roller and the collar to facilitate the movement of the roller.

5. In a feed roller unit, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger diameter than that of the said head and a bore of a larger diameter than the outside diameter of the sleeve a collar slidably sleeve, spring-actuated means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said collar between said head and said collar, and fibre discs interposed between the head and the roller and the roller and the collar .to facilitate the movement of the roller and receive the main wear during the operation of the feed roller.

6. In a feed roller, a shaft, a plurality of units secured and adjustable. lengthwise of said shaft and each consisting of, a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger diameter than the outside diameter of said head and a bore of a larger size than outside of said sleeve, a collar slidingly mounted on the sleeve, and spring-actuated means mounted upon the sleeve for clamping said roller yieldingly between said head and said collar.

7. In a feed roller, a shaft, a plurality of units secured on said shaft and each consisting of a sleeve having an enlarged head, a roller having a larger outside diameter than that of said head and a bore of a large size than the outside diameter of the sleeve, a

collar slidingly mounted on the sleeve, and means mounted upon the sleeve for clamp-- ing said roller' yieldingly between said head and said collar.

FRED GITZENDANNER.

yieldingly between said head and said collar, 

